Pitt cornerbacks Aaron Berry and Ricky Gary were injured in the second half of the 27-22 win against Notre Dame, and that meant the Panthers had to finish the game with a patchwork secondary against a potent Fighting Irish passing attack.

One of the substitutes was sophomore Antwuan Reed. While his inexperience did show on some plays, he made a few others.

More important, given the shaky status of Berry's shoulder (Gary is fine, but Berry is day to day), Reed got some much-needed experience for the stretch run should he be called on again to step in and play.

"I learned [from the Notre Dame experience] that you have to be prepared at any time," Reed said yesterday.

"So no matter how little reps you get or if you get a lot of reps, you have to take them all one play at a time. [Against Notre Dame] I just tried to take it one play at a time going in there because it was a pretty tough situation.

"I just wanted to go in there and do what I have been taught here. I thought I did OK, but I know I could have done a lot better, and that is why I practice harder every day now."

Reed, who is from Johnstown, said the one thing he did not do as well as he usually does is tackle, saying he failed to wrap the players up.

If Berry can't play against West Virginia next Friday, Reed would likely be the first corner off the bench, with Gary and Jovanni Chappel as the starters.

The Pitt-Cincinnati game Dec. 5 at Heinz Field -- with the winner being crowned Big East champion -- will start at noon, it was announced yesterday, and will be televised on WTAE.

Typically, a noon kickoff is a bad time slot in terms of attendance for Pitt home games as the fans seem to prefer late-afternoon or evening starts.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said it doesn't matter to his players what time the game is, and he may take some dramatic measures to make sure the stadium is filled that day.

"We've played well at noon, we've played well at night," Wannstedt said. "It really doesn't make any difference for us. It is more [an issue] for the fans than probably the team.

"I might have to go over there and drive through Oakland and banging on dorm windows with a noon kickoff, but we have to get our students up early and get them going. That will be a must. Maybe I should talk to the chancellor and we should put a curfew on the entire university so everybody can wake up."

During off weeks Wannstedt typically spends a day or two visiting the classes of his players to make sure they are attending classes. "It is important to let the players know that [getting to class] is important," he said. "It is also good to get on campus a little bit. With us being a little bit removed, we don't have as many opportunities to do that during the season. So it is all good." ... The players are off today and tomorrow, then begin practice Sunday for West Virginia.

Check out Ray Fittipaldo's Pitt B-Ball blog and Paul Zeise's Pitt Stop videos about football exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.